11 



reach the nectar secretions, the legs are variously modified, the third 

 pair so constructed as to facilitate the carrying of pollen. The plates 

 on the underside of the last four visible segments of the abdomen are 

 modified on the edge pointing toward the head to form wax glands 

 from which the wax used in comb building is secreted. The sting is 

 straight and barbed, used only in self defense and protection of the 

 colony. The length of the life of a worker bee is not measured in 

 days and weeks, but by the amount of work they do. During the honey 

 flow, they naturally work themselves to death and the population of 

 the colony would decrease rapidly unless brood was being reared 

 heavily. During such a period the average life of the bee is from 

 three to six weeks, while in periods of less work the life is lengthened. 

 Bees emerging during early autumn live over winter and begin activi- 

 ties the next spring. Bees dying during the active season die in the 

 field, failing to return with the last load. 



DEVELOPMENT OP THE WORKER. 



The queen deposits an egg in the ordinary cell in which honey Is 

 stored; in three days it hatches into a very small pearly white larva 

 grub. During the first day or two it is fed in limited quantities a milk 

 white food exactly like that fed to the queen. The remaining four or 

 five days of growth the food is of a coarser nature. Six days are spent 

 in larval or growing period, and twelve days are required in the 

 quiecent period during which it changes from a larva to a mature 

 bee. Twenty-one days is the usual period of development from the 

 time the egg is laid until the mature bee emerges from the cell. The 

 newly emerged worker can be easily recognized by its small size and 

 downy appearance. 



DIVISION OF WORKERS. 



The labor of the colony is divided between two classes of bees; 

 young bees who perform the inside work of the hive, part of which 

 is taking care of the developing brood, building comb and protecting 

 the entrance against robbers; the old, or field bees, who are the fora- 

 gers or gatherers whose duties are to gather nectar, pollen, and pro- 

 polis or "bee glue." If there are few or no young bees, the older bees 

 assume their duties. 



DRONES. 



Late in April or early in May when brood rearing is active, large, 

 thick, clumsy individuals make their appearance and continue to in- 

 crease in numbers during the productive season. These are the drones, 

 and are non-producers, but living on the toil of the others. They are 

 the males and their only function is that of mating with a virgin 

 queen, the act of which is fatal to the drone. It is estimated that 

 not more than one in a thousand ever perform that duty. Nature con- 

 siders the queen's life extremely valuable, and in order to insure 

 fertilization without undue exposures to hazards surrounding her 



